There and Back Again: Week 29 FAMILY FROLIC GALORE!!!

OH MY GOODNESS, THIS WEEK! FULL OF MOVING, A BAD BACK, and a GREAT FAMILY VISIT! The Happiest thing I have ever done was be a mother. This week I was super grateful that my children loved their brother in law, Aaron so much that they all came out to celebrate his graduation from medical school... ALL four of my kids and their kids and spouses. But then sadly, Aaron had to attend an emergency funeral of his best friend in Missouri! So we were there and he was not! We will be cutting and pasting him into our family photo!! He is doing OK.

That same week we had moved to Carthage. So Thursday we upacked our last box, I made four loaves of bread, and Friday we went up to Iowa City, then everyone came home with us to Carthage Friday night except Autumn and Aaron who left early Saturday morning for Greece. We took their boys home to be with cousins.

Due to the new chores of taking care of carthage, my lower back went out with the weeding and push mowering...so while it heals, I'm consigned to scrubbing the bird dung off the paver bricks with a wet broom, cleaning the statues and monuments sweeping the parking lot, picking up sticks with the "picker upper thingys" and driving the tractor mower while Elder Cullen works the mower, weed whacker, and blower. It's a big big job.

The grand kids helped! And shouted and cheered Grandpa as he drove back and forth mowing the lawns across the parking lot. I just have to share some of the peaceful, joyful times we had. It's such a miracle that on this mission we are seeing our children more than we do at home! It's truly an unexpected miracle.

OK you made it this far...if you know my kids these pictures will delight you, if you don't, I hope they still delight you. I will leave you with these two thoughts. Marriage is ordained of God, and when both partners keep their covenants it can truly be wonderful, even with all the irritations and learning experiences. ALSO a quote from Gerrit W. Gong (Apostle) "You may wonder if your Heavenly Father loves you. The answer is a resounding, absolute yes!"

Happy Mother's Day PLUS FAMILY HISTORY FUN

Our Carthage Adventure has begun. I consider driving this mower as a Mother's Day gift. It's a very fun job. It takes about 3.5 hours to mow the lawns and it's very satisfying. Speaking of Mother's. I feel that any woman who loves, protects, teaches, comforts, and nurtures another human being is a mother. I have been mothered by women who have never given birth. I am grateful for the women in my life who have made me feel loved and needed. I love the example of my little cousins and nieces who nurture each other and are there for each other.

Recently while down at the Mississippi, My friend Elder Rassmasun had a really good camera. We were both taking pictures of an Eagle family. I had been observing them through my binoculars. He took some great photos and shared. It exemplifies the family structure.

I'm grateful to my mother for all she has done over the past 59 years. As a Mother of four, I can't say enough about Fathers too. That fishing Eagle reminds me of my dad. I could not be the mother I am if my husband wasn't such a protective and nurturing Father. As we nurture each other we are able to focus our best efforts at nurturing and protecting our children.

I love this picture. I took it while cleaning out a house on the Mississippi. It was such a lovely calm Spring day, and the Mama and Daddy Geese were taking the babies out for an adventure. I loved the protective positioning of an adult in front and an adult in back. No one gets lost. Sometimes we lead, sometimes we bring up the rear, both are needful as we protect each other and all in our stewardship.

This cute man is my cousin, Matt. I used to babysit him back in the day. The tatoo is of our grandmother and grandfather PERONA! One of our other cousins made these tatoos at our last family reunion. It was hilarious and since grandma Perona was very against tatoos...it's even more hilarious that now she IS one. What I love about Matt is how much he loves our family, living and dead. He has spent oodles of time, resources, and energy to take family members to Italy to help gather family names from churches, graveyards, and family bibles. He has stirred up a glorious spirit of connection. His father, my uncle Cliff, and our Uncle Anthony and Aunt Marcia went on missions to Italy so they could help the non Italian speakers communicate with each other and get work done. They have brought back thousands of Italian names and are uploading them into familysearch.org so that anyone can access them, see their graves, old photos, etc. He just sent us a picture of himself with this tatoo to remind us to HELP with the indexing and uploading of family names into family search AND to take our own family names to the temple to seal them to each other for time AND all eternity. Families can be together forever, for some that may sound like a nightmare! I think most DO want to be together forever and for those who don't God will sort that out and everyone is going to be very happy. Get on familysearch.org it's FREE! It's EASY. If you text me I will help you get started. Find out who you are and honor the people who have gone before you; the criminals, the creatives, the workers, the shirkers, the saints, all the types of people. You will find your life blessed because they will help you when you remember them.

PS I LOVE the recent cartoons that have come out focusing on family....COCO and Encanto!

There and Back Again Week 27: GRIEF and BLESSINGS

Usually I LOVE change. I welcome the unexpected with curiosity and excitement. I was NOT prepared for this change however. In fact, just 4 days before I told a new missionary couple, "yes, sometimes people get transferred from Nauvoo, but we're FM so we're safe." LOL FAMOUS last words.

My bags are packed and we're being transfered to CARTHAGE! We will be in a smaller house, and 30 minutes away from Nauvoo. We've been asked to be grounds managers of Carthage because we're strong, hardworkers, and self directed. We will be our own bosses. Our Job? To make the grounds impeccable. The trees, the grass, the walkways, the garbage cans, the doorways, the monuments, the flower beds...in the heat of summer... outside...over 100 degrees. I cried. Several times. I appreciate the vote of confidence, however I LOVE my housing job SO much, I couldn't imagine having a fun mission without being in housing!

We just did some very heavy lifting and dragging and reorganizing of our big storage space in housing in order to make our processes more efficient when we loan items to missionaries with visiting family and friends, motel stays, etc, etc. Our cleaning supplies were more organized and work spaces better and streamlined. That was SO exhausting, satisfying, and joyful...all of us working together...sob. I realized I couldn't be a big baby and say, "NO WAY", however I did allow myself to feel all my feelings and grieve the loss, then get over it and then be cautiously curious and excited for our new life in Carthage.

So what will I miss about Nauvoo? Working in Housing, game nights with our friends, pickle ball on Mondays (2 min drive), Watching the sun set on the Mississippi River, watching the sun rise on the bluff on the way to Kickboxing(6:30am), all my neighbors, the beauty of the fields, and Old Nauvoo, the slowness of the small town (population 1100),

the temple being in sight pretty much from ANY place in town. I will miss our nice clean upgraded apartment. Wah Wah Wah.

OK, What am I looking forward to in Carthage? Getting to know the 3 other couples out that way plus the Young Sister Missionaries that are out that way. I'm excited to be trained on the large equipment, snow ploughs, riding lawnmowers, cherry pickers, etc. I'm excited to work directly WITH Elder Cullen again...just like when we used to at work where we met. I'm excited to learn about maintaining gorgeous flower beds, maintaining a perfect lawn, keeping the statues clean. I'm looking forward to making a procedures and policies binder so that the next people who get this job will have a clearer idea of what to do and how to do it. I'm excited to clean and organize the tool and storage sheds! I am looking forward to giving tours of the jail where Joseph Smith, the first prophet of the last days, and Hyrum, his brother, were martyred. I am looking forward to feeling the spirit of that sacred space. I am looking forward to listening to my scriptures and study guides in the car as we travel back and forth to Nauvoo to attend the temple, continue pickle ball with our missionary friends, and attend our evening meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday, and church on Sunday. It's going to be OK, I don't like moving but I'm going to have fun wherever the Lord sends me because...if HE wants me there, then It's going to be an adventure and I LOVE that.

There and Back Again: Week 26 Precious Covenants and precious Grandchildren

Last week, one of my friends on our cleaning crew shared that while she was in the temple she noticed that a commandment was given, and then God said, "and to help you keep this commandment we will give you a covenant" It was the first time that thing had really jumped out at her and ME as well. It was a blessing to ponder. We thought about it. HOW do covenants help us to keep commandments? I surmised the following...If someone tells a group of us that they are going to be at the park for a service project or a party or whatever, and generally asks us if we can come help and I don't say anything...I am less likely to show up. Especially if when the time comes, I'm in the middle of a nap, one of my own home projects, or just finishing work and am tuckered out. BUT if I covenant (or promise) with that person that I will be there and I'm bringing a shovel, or a salad, or a couple other friends...then even if I'm sick I'm going to do all I can to be there as I promised. So a covenant DOES make it easier to keep a commandment because you are making a personal one on one commitment with the Lord.

We covenant to do what ever the Lord asks of us (take His yoke) and He covenants to make our burdens light. Our grandson, Emmet models this by laying a "hundred pound bag" on his tummy! LOL We had a wonderful week end starting with a Spring Fling English Country Line Dancing of the 1840's dance Friday night. I did my own hair...I was very proud of it.

Saturday I attended Emmet's farewell party for his friends (they're moving to Tennessee for his dad's medical residency). Then I took the boys home with me for Saturday night through Monday afternoon so Autumn and Aaron could celebrate their anniversary by packing...hahah! It was such a joy to be with the boys in our sacred space on this mission. We learned together about the early saints and how they worked in Nauvoo.

Emmet learned how to make bread in a fire, make candles, card wool, load a wagon (hence the "100 lb" bag) Taran helped too and helped Emmet make a rope...which was then used to tie up Elder Cullen

We had precious spriritual experiences as we explored God's beautiful world and talked about how grateful we were for the beauties of the earth.

Because of covenants Elder Cullen and I have made in the temple our family will be sealed together for time and all eternity! If you want to find out more about making covenants with Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father and bring more joy into your life just private message me! Have a good week.

There and Back Again: Week 25 HOLY WEEK!

Happy Easter! He HAS Risen.

This week we deep cleaned some HUGE houses. These homes are for the pagaent and performing missionaries. Did you know that could be a mission? A six month performing mission where you bare your testimony of Jesus Christ through your talents of Acting, Singing, and Dancing. Hmmmm sounds familiar! LOL These houses are SO big we have to change our tactics. So a day before we deep clean, we send a couple of our team over to do inventory and wipe out cupboards while the rest of the team cleans whatever they are tackling that day. That leaves the forerunners free to help us clean the house when we come in the next day. Some of these places have been a bit neglected due to lack of man power and also we have upped our cleaning games when we split off of the Collections Care department. So we are laser focused on just cleaning. On the way to a job I sometimes HAVE to stop and say, "WOW JESUS! You are amazing and creative and the BEST Artist ever." Look at this tree! I am floored by Spring here.

We had a WONDERFUL Easter Week and for the Week End, one of my old roomates from college came to visit with her husband and one of her sons and spent Friday Night. It was SO fun to catch up. She grew up around here and had great stories to tell about being in the "City of Joseph" Pagaent every summer. It was wonderful. That pagaent no longer exists but more are here now.

Throughout the summer, more than 1,100 missionaries and other volunteers in Historic Nauvoo put on a wide variety of live musical and theatrical performances to celebrate the history and spirit of the early Latter-day Saints who lived in Nauvoo in the 1840s. Many performance elements are based on actual people, records, accounts, and journals of the early Church members and leaders. Performances include the Nauvoo Pageant, the British Pageant, and many smaller vignettes, concerts, and shows. These performances invite visitors to experience the joy, hope, and inspiration that the early Saints found in living Christ’s gospel.

Here's the link to cut and paste if you want to find out more. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/learn/history/sites/historic-nauvoo?lang=eng

We also got an unexpected opportunity to go to Autumn's in-laws, Mike and Bev McConeghey.

On Saturday we spent the morning with my roomate then drove an hour and 15 min to Mike and Bevs and got to do an egg hunt with Autumn's and Aaron's kids (Emmet and Taran) and eat yummy food and be back that night.

We were singing in the Easter Choir and I was teaching sunday school so we couldn't miss Sunday. Love you all! Praying that you know that because Jesus did HIS mission, you can do YOUR mission. Death has lost it's sting. He is RISEN!